Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 854. Planning (4)

"You're here, sir!"

"Good day to you, Assembly Master."

Kang Jin-Ho headed to the office's couch while responding to the two men's greetings. When Lee Hyeon-Su tried to get up and yield the seat of honor, Kang Jin-Ho briefly gestured at him to sit still.

"Let's skip the unnecessary etiquette, shall we?"

"Yes, sir!"

"The topic you two were discussing. It sounds interesting, so don't mind me and continue."

Cheon Tae-Hun was inwardly panicking at this development. Everything he said was meant for Lee Hyeon-Su's ears, not Kang Jin-Ho.

Obviously, Lee Hyeon-Su and Kang Jin-Ho were not on the same level.

Once upon a time, Lee Hyeon-Su was viewed as a grim reaper within the hallways of the Martial Assembly. No, that wasn't right. People still viewed him as a messenger of death, even now! However, his infamy was nothing in comparison to Kang Jin-Ho.

In simpler terms... If Lee Hyeon-Su was comparable to a grim reaper, Kang Jin-Ho was King Yama, the ruler of the netherworld!

If you had grievances, you'd usually voice them to a grim reaper coming to pick your soul up, not to King Yama about to judge you. Nobody had the requisite balls for that!

Cheon Tae-Hun stuttered ungainly. "U-uhm, sir, it's not like I'm, uh, particularly unhappy about..."

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Cheon Tae-Hun. "Don't worry. You can say it."

"...O-of course." Cheon Tae-Hun grimaced a little, his lips twitching nervously.

'What am I supposed to say? How should I even say them?'

Coming face to face with Kang Jin-Ho seemed to have blanked out Cheon Tae-Hun's mind. His instincts told him not to talk to Kang Jin-Ho for too long. He must keep this conversation as concise as possible!

"Sir. I'm not sure how much you've heard..."

"I heard everything," said Kang Jin-Ho.

"..."

Heard everything? How? Cheon Tae-Hun could only blink his eyes in stupefaction. Did the Assembly Master install listening devices in this bloody office or something?

"I-in that case, that is all, sir. I don't have anything more to add."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, sir."

Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded. "I see. Then, what's your proposed solution?"

"...My solution, sir?"

"Well, yeah. Seeing how much thought you've given to this matter, you must've also considered solutions. Even if you couldn't think of a clear-cut solution, you should still have some ideas that might improve our situation bit by bit."

"Oh, uh... Yes, sir. I do."

"Good. Now, let's hear it."

Cheon Tae-Hun licked his dried-stiff lips several times, then tried to speak as confidently as possible. "Sir. Now that we've ordered a whole bunch of tablets, I was hoping we could implement an online alert system for the Assembly."

"...Mm?" Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

With that, the floodgates in Cheon Tae-Hun's heart broke wide open.

"We should be honest about the current state of the Assembly, everyone. When nicely put, it's an old-fashioned organization, but when not-so-nicely put, this place has failed to keep up with the modern times. When I look at how folks in our organization carry on with their daily lives, it's like I'm looking at a photo from the 80s."

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su wordlessly stared at each other.

'Really?'

'I guess so?'

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head again. "Uh... Well, sure. Let's say it is."

"Please take a look," said Cheon Tae-Hun, his index finger suddenly pointing outside the window. Wondering what he wanted them to see, Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su craned their necks.

"Sir, can you see the noticeboard down there?"

"Yeah, I can."

"Who in their right mind would post important messages on a board like that with this many people around?"

"..."

"..."

Both men were left speechless for a moment there.

"Sir, some members commute to the Assembly every day, but lots more don't even bother showing up unless something special is about to go down. Members like that only find out what happened a few days after the event."

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. "Huh... Yeah, I guess so."

"All this can be sorted out by a simple SMS message, so I can't figure out why we're still sticking to our current system, sir. It's not like we're stuck in the 80s, now are we?"

Unable to rebut Cheon Tae-Hun's accusatory words, Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su found themselves silently shrinking back.

Cheon Tae-Hun wasn't done, however.

"Nowadays, even the convenience store around the corner asks you to sign up for its membership program and receive notices of upcoming events. So, how does an organization of our scale sticking posters of announcements on a noticeboard make sense in this day and age? Worse still, we don't even have our own website. If the announcement gets taken down before a member sees it, how are they supposed to know what it's about?"

"Uh..." Lee Hyeon-Su progressively sunk deeper and deeper into his couch.

The details of complaints he wanted to hear about weren't supposed to be like this.

The flow of this conversation was going in an unexpected direction. Of course, the unexpected direction wasn't the problem here. Regardless of what Lee Hyeon-Su thought, the things requiring attention still needed to be sorted out, after all!

The problem Lee Hyeon-Su had was with how Cheon Tae-Hun's words mercilessly kicked him in the gut!

"I can more or less understand if the Assembly was still being run by a bunch of old farts. It's possible for them to think the changes in the outside world didn't concern us, after all. But sir. Assembly Master, you're in your twenties. And Chief Lee, you are in your thirties, aren't you?"

Lee Hyeon-Su almost blurted out, No, hang on a minute. Our Assembly Master is technically in his twenties, but... He's actually a super-old dude inside, you know?

"Since young people seized power, I figured our system would obviously change, too. But nothing has changed. I can't understand why we're still trying to stick to the antiquated system. Is there a special reason I don't know about?"

"..."

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su stared at each other. Cheon Tae-Hun's probing gaze heaped too much pressure on them.

What 'special' reason could there be? They stuck to this system because... They thought that was how things were supposed to be done.

"O-okay, so..." Kang Jin-Ho carefully spoke up, his voice trembling noticeably. "That, uh, online, mm? That thing you were talking about?"

Cheon Tae-Hun narrowed his eyes. "The online alert system, sir."

"..."

"Simply put, we should develop a Martial Assembly-exclusive app and... Of course, we need to worry about security, so we could have the members log in only through their fingerprints. Which can be done by swapping out everyone's phone to the latest models."

"...App?" Kang Jin-Ho grimaced slightly.

"Yes, sir. Apps, as in applications..." Cheon Tae-Hun stopped in the middle of his explanation, his already-narrowed eyes narrowing even more. "...Sirs, please don't tell me I need to explain what an app is. Please tell me I'm wrong."

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly raised his voice. "O-of course I know what an app is. Yes, it's an... application."

Kang Jin-Ho weightily nodded. "I've played with many apps when I was younger. Mm."

That was when despair quickly dyed Cheon Tae-Hun's expression.

How was it possible for a couple of young dudes to have seemingly zero understanding of modern electronics? Cheon Tae-Hun quickly figured out the origin of the current problem, and his jaw fell in sheer disbelief.

"What the... We haven't been sticking to the old system because of a particular reason, have we?"

"..."

"It's not the case of we couldn't, but more like we don't know how. Isn't it, sirs?"

"..."

The most powerful figure in the Martial Assembly and his right-hand man were getting lectured by a much, much younger man.

Cheon Tae-Hun threw his hands up in the air. "The world around us is changing at a breakneck pace, sirs! What kind of future will we have if our higher-ups are this clueless?!"

"M-my bad..."

"Yes, we made a mistake."

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su rapidly shrank back in their seats, but Cheon Tae-Hun wasn't ready to stop his onslaught just yet.

"Even if! The Martial Assembly is a place to master martial arts! And that makes us a bit more obsessed about things from the past! You two have been flipping everything up in the name of reform, haven't you?! So how could you not know about something as basic as...!"

"I'm sorry."

"Yes, we're sorry."

Cheon Tae-Hun could only chuckle hollowly. He wasn't sure when their serious discussion devolved into this comedy routine, but... He now couldn't unsee the sight of Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su cowering like a pair of schoolboys getting reprimanded by their homeroom teacher.

'Huh... Things have changed a lot, haven't they?'

Moments like this were the best reminder Cheon Tae-Hun could ask how much the Martial Assembly had changed. In the past, he often joked around with Bang Jin-Hun, but never once did he try to one-up his master during serious discussions regarding future directions and policies.

That was because Cheon Tae-Hun couldn't dare do that. In the Martial Assembly, the existence of one's master and superiors was like the heavens themselves. No matter how sincere Cheon Tae-Hun was, Bang Jin-Hun wouldn't have forgiven his disciple if the latter tried to put a damper on what he wished to do.

If that was flipped around... It meant Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su were much more open-minded than their predecessors.

'Which means things might really change around here.'

In order to improve the Martial Assembly's strength, everyone had to chip in and do their share. Of course, who could step up to the leader's position was still set in stone. This was a different problem from what Cheon Tae-Hun was complaining about, though.

The idea of turning the Martial Assembly into a more systemic organization that got things done more efficiently... Now that was something every member could participate in.

Lee Hyeon-Su carefully raised his hand. "So, uh... In order to develop this app or whatever, what do we need to do?"

"..."

It seemed Cheon Tae-Hun was mistaken. Nothing would change at this rate!

He sucked in a deep breath, then slowly explained the process.

"First of all, we should start by hiring programmers."

"Programmers?"

"How do we hire people like that?"

When the two wielders of absolute power in the Assembly stared at him with innocent eyes... Cheon Tae-Hun felt like a lone man standing in the middle of a god-forsaken desert.

He wanted to build a house here, but the only thing he could see for miles was sand. And more sand. There weren't any tools, no building materials, and not even workers in this location. In that case, how was he supposed to start anything? The whole thing seemed like a burst even before it could begin!

"Well, mm, this is..." Cheon Tae-Hun grimaced and hesitated.

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su weren't slow-witted men, so they quickly realized what the crux of their problem was.

Lee Hyeon-Su looked at Kang Jin-Ho. "Assembly Master, I don't think we can help Cheon Tae-Hun out in this situation."

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"In that case, how about we just grant him the full authority so he can handle this matter on his own?"

"Yep, I agree. Granted."

Cheon Tae-Hun's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "H-huh? I'm sorry?!"

Lee Hyeon-Su firmly put his foot down. "I'm going to create a specialized department for you. So, do your best and develop this app."

"H-hold on, sir? How am I supposed to do that?"

"Why not? App developers are also humans, aren't they?"

"Hold on, hold on! Sir, this is not something you can just will into existence because you feel like it. Besides, some people will definitely have issues with me running a department. Please consider my position, as well."

"Fuu-woo..." Lee Hyeon-Su groaned. What a complicated situation this was.

That was when the light in Kang Jin-Ho's eyes dangerously flickered. "So... What we need right now is someone who understands all the tech mumbo-jumbo and helps you decide on this and that?"

Cheon Tae-Hun nearly faltered. "Uh, oh... Yes, sir. Something like that."

"That simplifies things. I know someone perfect for that role."

"Sorry?"

Kang Jin-Ho didn't say anything else and pulled out his phone before accessing the messaging app. Cheon Tae-Hun was inwardly impressed by this sight.

'Wow. At least the Assembly Master knows how to use the messaging app...'

A man who didn't know what an app was knew how to use an app. That had to be one of the saddest ironies populating this world.

"...Mm. Done. He's coming," said Kang Jin-Ho while putting his phone away. He glanced at Cheon Tae-Hun again. "Okay, so. Once we create this system you talk about, our efficiency will go up? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes, sir. The announcements will reach our people so much faster."

"Mm... I get that, but is that such an important problem requiring an urgent solution?"

Cheon Tae-Hun mulled over where to begin his explanation. "Sir. If that's the only thing it can do, then no, it wouldn't be an urgent issue. However, that's not all it can do.

"If you set up a forum exclusively devoted to anonymous complaints, the problem you've been worried about will get resolved in one go, Chief Lee. Because we will have a flood of anonymous complaints."

"Mm, yeah. That makes sense," Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded.

Cheon Tae-Hun sighed under his breath. He suddenly felt thirsty. And exhausted, too. "We have a variety of problems to sort out. However, in my opinion, the biggest one is how the Assembly has been split into different layers, and there is a clear breakdown in communication between these layers. And there's another big problem that the app could solve."

Lee Hyeon-Su and Kang Jin-Ho tilted their heads. "Another problem?"

"Yes. It's the language barrier," said Cheon Tae-Hun, his voice firm and unwavering. "We have too many varied languages being spoken right now. At least we can somehow make do with this messy mixture of English, Chinese, and Korean. But now, we have French to worry about, too."

"Yeah, that's true."

"Since people are having a hard time communicating with each other, it only makes sense that we also can't freely share our opinions. That's why I think our language situation will improve significantly by having an automated translation service built into our app that can translate what we post online."

"Oh...!" Kang Jin-Ho grew genuinely interested as he stared at Cheon Tae-Hun. "There was such a service available?"

"..."

Cheon Tae-Hun briefly entertained the idea of giving up now and walking away. This 'briefing' felt like he was teaching computer literacy to a caveman. Just as he realized this couldn't go on, he heard a knock coming from the office's exit.

Knock, knock...!

The three men's attention shifted to the doorway.

"He's here," Kang Jin-Ho grinned brightly. "I've called the expert in this area, so you should discuss this matter with him."

"An... expert, sir?" Cheon Tae-Hun frowned in confusion.

"You'll see for yourself. You can come in!"

Cheon Tae-Hun couldn't help but grow a little hopeful just then. An expert, was it?

Even though no one within the Martial Assembly could claim to be an expert in modern technology or programming? Maybe it was someone Cheon Tae-Hun didn't know.

However, when the door opened, and the 'expert' in question stepped inside the office... Cheon Tae-Hun's expression crumpled hideously.

The person entering the office wore a clean-cut business suit. And his dress shoes glistened crisply under the light. A slender tie stylishly hung over the smart two-tone dress shirt. And his hair was neatly trimmed in the distinctive two-block pompadour style.

Most people would've agreed this man knew how to dress for the occasion. In fact, he could be seen as a bit too trendy, even!

It was just that one detail stood out like a sore thumb. And that would be his hair. It was snow-white!

"My liege! I have come to answer your summons!"

"...?!"

Cheon Tae-Hun's jaw fell as he watched Chang Min kowtow on the office floor.

'What the hell? This is the...'

...The expert Kang Jin-Ho mentioned?

When Cheon Tae-Hun's flabbergasted face creakily turned toward him, Kang Jin-Ho smirked triumphantly. "Don't worry, you two will become chums in no time."

"...??"

It seemed something had gone wrong somewhere. And by quite a lot, too!

"Okay, so..." Chang Min shot up to his feet, then the corner of his lips curled up as he studied Cheon Tae-Hun. "...What did you say the problem was, young man?"

Well, the problem is... You!

No, hang on. It's... me?

No, no, no...

The problem is this place!